Today, we’re in for some organized crafting chaos at the Alameda Art Lab Bling Bar. With our workstations filled with shards of decorative glass and our glass cutters handy, we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and make some fused-glass cactus plants. I’m mesmerized by all the shades of green glass and its texture. Olive, sage or pear? Transparent or opaque? Prickly pear, Cereus, or San Pedro cactus? Okay, it’s time to pull up Pinterest and get some ideas flowing. 

While I’ve done a few mosaic glass projects, fused-glass is a first for me. It uses much of the same technique in developing the skills needed to cut and shape glass with the cutter. To really get the edges of the cactus rounded and smooth, I learned how to use the sanding tool, which is now my favorite tool. The sanding tool is like an electric nail filer and it rounds out the sharp edges after you cut your glass. 

After you cut the glass into various shapes and layer them on top of each other, the fun part of this project is giving them all some character. Here’s where I got to experiment with spaghetti noodles and acrylic paint to create the spine of the cactus. Once we finished, we left the pieces of glass on the table and our instructor fused the glass together. 

They turned out great!! Now I can put this on my desk at work. The best part is knowing that it doesn’t need sunlight and I don’t need to water it at all!